A fifth crew member has died in hospital following the December 29 crash of a Russian airliner at Moscow's Vnukovo Airport.

The charter airline Red Wings announced on Twitter on December 30 that flight attendant Tatyana Penkina had died as a result of her injuries.

Three crew members remain in hospital in serious condition.

Emergency workers now say bad brakes may be to blame for the incident, in which the plane failed to decelerate on the runway, crashing through a perimeter fence before breaking into fragments and bursting into flames.

Interfax quoted an unnamed airport emergency worker as saying the Tupolev Tu-204 aircraft failed to decelerate after touching down on the runway, suggesting the plane's brakes or thrust reversers may have failed.

The plane then slammed through the airport's perimeter fence, breaking into fragments and bursting into flames.

The plane, which has room for more than 200 passengers, was empty except for its crew, and was returning from a passenger flight to the Czech city of Pardubice.